The Celtics began their 2007 summer league efforts last night, as they faced #1 overall draft pick Greg Oden and his Portland Trail Blazers. On paper, Portland’s roster looks deeper and more talented, but that can only take you so far. The C’s jumped all over Portland from the get-go, and Oden found himself in immediate foul trouble just three minutes into the game. In fact, the big fella ended up fouling out (also note that you get 10 fouls in summer league). Leon Powe, Glen Davis, and Lance Allred all did an excellent job covering Oden and not letting him establish his ground. That seemed to be the case with this Celtics team last night: good team defense, something we’re not used to seeing.

While Oden didn’t have a picture perfect debut, LaMarcus Aldridge looked great out there throughout the entire game. He was nailing 18 footers with ease, blocking shots, he was very active, and he was snatching boards. Aldridge finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 10-17 shooting.

Leon Powe was “the show” last night. Not only was he extremely aggressive, finished at the rim, and hounded the boards, he also did a commendable job on Greg Oden. He didn’t allow Oden to get position on him, he didn’t allow him to back him down, he boxed him out.

Gerald Green came out with some extra bounce in his step, as he showed off his athletic ability, put himself on the highlight reel a couple times, and hit some jumpers. Green was pretty quiet in the second half, and he did take some questionable shots, but his defense looked to be much improved. Granted, this was just one summer league game, but Green’s single coverage last night made Celtics fans smile. Even head coach Doc Rivers commented on Gerald’s defense, and was happy with it.

Allan Ray usually doesn’t have a good game if he’s not shooting well, but that wasn’t the case last night. He struggled from the perimeter, but he also did other things and kept himself in the game. He was active on the glass and he got himself to the free throw line.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis got into foul trouble, had to guard bigger players, and couldn’t get anything going offensively. However, he was still very active and he really made some terrific passes inside. You should expect to see Davis have a better night on Monday.

Gabe Pruitt showed some flashes last night. He shot the ball pretty well from the perimeter and was aggressive, but he was very quiet in the second half and struggled defensively in the second half as well.

Rajon Rondo had a rough night. He did a good job defensively, which is what the C’s need most, but he has to stop passing up multiple layups. He must have passed up four or five of them last night by passing out of them in the air, and he also missed two. He did, however, manage to make an 80 footer as the first quarter expired. Rondo is expected to have a better outing on Monday, as well.

The surprise of the night was undrafted forward Brandon Wallace. Playing small forward, Wallace impressed. He was extremely active around the basket, played good defense, and really showed off his athletic ability. His length, quickness, and athleticism wowed both the coaching staff and the NBA TV announcers. Hopefully, Wallace continues to impress and earns himself an invite to training camp.

Side note: Sebastian Telfair attended the game, and watched in the stands, sitting next to Danny Ainge.

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Celtics Player Stat Lines

• Leon Powe: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 7-13 FG, 5-8 FT
• Gerald Green: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 5-11 FG, 1-3 3FG, 3-7 FT
• Allan Ray: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3-10 FG, 0-3 3FG, 5-7 FT
• Brandon Wallace: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 3-6 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT
• Gabe Pruitt: 7 points, 1 steal, 3-6 FG, 0-1 3FG
• Rajon Rondo: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1-4 FG, 1-1 3FG, 3-6 FT
• Lance Allred: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2-6 FG, 2-2 FT
• Glen Davis: 3 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 0-5 FG, 3-4 FT
• Andreas Glyniadakis: 2:37 of playing time
• Sergio Sanchez: DNP
• Torin Francis: DNP
• Eric Hicks: DNP
• Pat Carroll: DNP

The 2007 Las Vegas Summer League will officially be underway at 4:00 pm ET, with the Philadelphia 76ers and the San Antonio Spurs. At 6:00 pm, Kevin Durant will make his debut as Seattle will face off against Dallas. At 8:00 pm, Mike Conley Jr. and the Memphis Grizzlies will go head-to-head with Yi Jianlian and the Chinese National team. All games will be available on NBA TV and NBA.com, via webcast.
10:00 pm ET, however, is the time Celtics and Blazers fans are anxiously waiting for, as Greg Oden makes his summer league debut. Adding to the NBA.com live streaming, this game will also be available to watch on FSN New England and NBA TV.

With the San Antonio Spurs purchasing the Austin Toros, the Celtics needed to be assigned to a new D-League affiliate. That team turned out to be the Utah Flash. Boston will be sharing the affiliation with the NBA’s Utah Jazz.

Celtics assistant Dave Wohl has been moved up to the front office, which opens up another assistant coach position. Along with this move, Danny Ainge also finally has the GM (General Manager) tag, which was previously held by Chris Wallace, who recently left the organization for the General Manager position in Memphis. Celtics head coach Doc Rivers claims that despite losing two assistants this offseason (Tony Brown and now Dave Wohl), he still plans to hire just one assistant this summer. Former Timberwolves head coach Dwane Casey is said to be one of the leading candidates.

As expected, the Celtics have picked up forward Ryan Gomes’ third year option, which will net him $770,610 next year. Gomes has gotten off to an outstanding start to his NBA career, as he has earned himself significant minutes after being selected in the late second round in 2005 (50th overall). Last season, Gomes posted averages of 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while putting up 13.0 points and 5.8 rebounds as a starter. While he is putting up solid all-around numbers, that isn’t the half of what Gomes brings to the table. His poise, personality, basketball IQ, versatility, work ethic, and hustle are all major assets he brings to this basketball team.

The team also has until August 1 to pick up guard Allan Ray’s second year option. Ray’s play throughout the next two weeks in Vegas could very well determine his place on the roster.

The Celtics released their summer league roster today, as the team will be holding their first practice tomorrow in Las Vegas, to prepare for league action, which starts on Friday. The Green will be facing Greg Oden and the Trail Blazers on Friday night, which will be aired live on FSN at 10:00 pm ET. The roster is as follows:

57 Lance Allred C 6-11 270 Weber State

46 Pat Carroll G/F 6-5 190 St. Joseph’s

11 Glen Davis F 6-9 289 Louisiana State

59 Torin Francis F 6-11 252 Notre Dame

58 Andreas Glyniadakis C 7-1 280 Greece

5 Gerald Green G-F 6-8 200 Gulf Shores Academy

0 Leon Powe F 6-8 240 California

13 Gabe Pruitt G 6-4 170 Southern California

12 Allan Ray G 6-2 190 Villanova

9 Rajon Rondo G 6-1 171 Kentucky

36 Sergio Sanchez G 6-3 207 Spain

49 Brandon Wallace F 6-9 203 South Carolina

Ray Allen could not choose is life-long #34 (Paul Pierce), or any number in the 30-35 range (30 to Sebastian Telfair, 31-33 retired by Cedric Maxwell, Kevin McHale, and Larry Bird, and 35 retired by Reggie Lewis). Allen will wear #20 in Celtic green. Allen also stated that his ankles, in which he had surgery in April to remove bone spurs (same procedure Al Jefferson had last summer), are in “perfect” shape.

Celtics rookies Glen Davis (#11, 35th overall pick by Seattle, then traded to Boston along with Ray Allen) and Gabe Pruitt (#13, 32nd overall pick) will be in Vegas later this week to suit up with the summer league team. The first Celtics game of the 2007 Las Vegas Summer League will be on Friday night at 10:00 pm ET, and will be broadcasted on FSN.